Jellybean's Used Books and Entertainment — Local services in Caledonia Charter Township

A friend and I had came in on a slow Monday, and had planned on picking up some back-issues of X-Men comics. We had walked around the store looking at all of the items, and while they were extremely overpriced, I always believe that there's always that gem you can find for a good price. Within 10 minutes of being in the store I was subject to the single worst experience in a business that I had ever seen.

I had been looking at comics for about 5 minutes when the owner of the store said to me and my friend "I'm going to have to ask you ladies to leave." in a very serious tone. We assumed that the store was closing (even though it wasn't closing for another 2.5 hours), so we had asked him if they were closing. He responded with "You need to leave.", this time very stern. We were incredibly confused since we had been polite, quiet, and were just looking at comic books, and hadn't talked to him otherwise, so this came completely out of left field. We asked him why and his only response was "Bye." with an upset look, staring at us.

I thought maybe because I was a younger woman with blue hair and what would be called an "alternative" look, that he might have thought I was stealing, even though he had been standing about 5 feet away from me the entire time, and I also have a clear backpack that you can see the entire contents of. I told him "I planned on buying some comics, why are you asking us to leave?", and my friend asked the same thing.

He just kept repeating "Bye.", with such an angry face, like I had just insulted his mother.

I had thought at one point that maybe he was upset because he assumed I was mishandling comics, even though I own hundreds of them bagged and boarded in perfect condition, and respect store owners and their products. The irony here is that his comic books were completely unorganized, dirty, some so badly water-damaged that they were permanently stuck to the backing boards, so it would have been next to impossible for me to mishandle them. And if he thought I was taking too long (reading other reviews, apparently he thinks people waste his time and he has very little patience), then maybe he shouldn't have his comic books so unorganized and scattered?

I'm guessing we're permanently banned, even though I barely went to this store in the first place because of their high prices, so I'm not losing sleep. It was just one of the most jarring, confusing, and petty experiences of my entire life. Avoid this place at all costs, and if you happen to make it in there anyway, please buy something within 10 minutes or you will feel the wrath of a petty, cowardly old man with nothing better to do than feel powerful by kicking people out of his failing business.

Old man; If you are reading this, for the love of god please seek clinical services. I'm sincerely worried about your state of your...

An Interesting Mess

A two and a half rating would be more accurate, but it's not an option.

The place really has more of a "pawn shop" vibe, rather than a "used book store" vibe, which was odd. Their book collection is impressive, although most of the prices are in the wishful thinking category. Sale prices are decent enough, so I suppose waiting for a sale should be the plan.

Video game prices are worse than you can find online. If you need an old game today, I suppose they're an option.

Music prices are also high. Compact discs are dead technology, and most places shovel them out of the door to recoup investment. Not this place. They're priced like an early 90's used CD store. Again, wishful thinking pricing.

If you're into vinyl, keep driving. Their vinyl is garbage. Most used record stores wouldn't bother stocking 90% of the stuff they have, and the other 10% would be in the dollar bin. Vinyl pricing, again, is wishful thinking prices.

The employees are fine. They're overly self important and look like soup sandwiches, which is not uncommon for used book/record stores, but ironic in that this place is a glorified pawn shop.

If you're into used books, take a look. Other than that, well, they cater to people who need money now, don't understand what the internet is, or can't get a credit card to buy things online. I'm guessing they own the building outright, so they can wait forever for the clueless customer who'll pay any price., instead of making deals to make money quickly. It...

I really like this store. Like, a lot. When I was a teen, I remember going to some of the other locations in Flint several times and loved them. You were able to find really unique/older books at really reasonable prices. I was bummed when they were shut down. I have been trying to check out more book stores recently and I did not realize there was still a location open. It is packed with all types of books. Unique, older at really reasonable prices. My taste as changed from being a teen and I was not disappointed by the amount of books which still captivated my interest. The owner was wonderful, he owned the other locations as well. I am so glad this place has remained open. I absolutely will be back again. Do I need more books? No. Do I want more books? Yes and this is a great place to get them. Check it out. We want to keep gems...